More Colorado road deals could be on horizon

DENVER — Colorado transportation officials say more partnerships with private companies could be on the horizon after the state signed a deal for a private company to help expand and maintain the main Denver-Boulder highway and collect tolls.

The state’s High-Performance Transportation Enterprise is looking at partnerships for Interstate-70 through Denver and C-470 in Douglas County.

A deal signed Wednesday allows Plenary Roads, a consortium that includes Goldman Sachs, to invest in a stretch of U.S. Highway 36 owned by the state. The company will also be responsible for maintaining and plowing it as well as a stretch of Interstate 25. The company will be repaid over 50 years through express lane tolls.

Opponents are concerned tolls will be too high and they want more information about how the deal was struck.